Ypres Stories


Flanders

We drove to Tyne Cot Cemetery on a beautiful, sunny morning. I was feeling a bit edgy, since I am not a fan of driving on the wrong side of the road, and we definitely had some dodgy moments trying to turn left (or was it right)! On the bright side, Flanders is well sign posted. However, we still did not find Hill 64 but ended up instead in some s...


Bert goes to Ypres

I have managed to get a lift to Ypres. I am not sure yet whether I shall be returning to the UK or whether I will manage one more stop. The Square and main shopping route through the Menin Gate are really picturesque. The shops are full of chocolate (I prefer liquorice myself) and memorabilia from the 1st WW. You can also buy beer and waffles but no...


Ypres - Marching To The Menen Gate

Each turn and roll of the car ferry maintains a steady, cacophonous chorus of car alarms during the sea crossing from Dover to Calais. Cacophonous – a word synonymous with the clamouring weapons of war. Ironic how today’s journey would encompass Dunkerque and Ypres, two infamous and terrible theatres of war. Not far from Calais in the Nord-Pas de C...


The inhumanity we are capable of brings me to tears...

After getting off of the train in Ypres we walked right to the tourism office and bought a tour of the surrounding battle fields and cemeteries. After a quick lunch we went to the Menin gate which has the names of over 55,000 soldiers that died in the surrounding area and have no known burial ground. The Canadian list was really long and I ended up find...